The doctor who runs the sleep clinic at the Dr.-Georges-L-Dumont University Hospital Centre wants to open more sleep clinic beds. (CBC)

The doctor who runs a sleep laboratory at the Dr. Georges-L-Dumont University Hospital Centre in Moncton believes the province is lagging behind when it comes to treatment.

Respirologist Dr. Matthieu Gaudet, the lab's founder, is hoping to expand the service.

About 40 per cent of New Brunswickers suffer from some form of sleep disorder, according to Gaudet.

He says the province is lagging behind when it comes to treatment.

When Gaudet started working at the hospital in 2008, he asked what kind of services were needed.

He said he found a lack of resources for studying sleep.

"According to our provincial demographic we should have approximately 64 sleep beds and ... before our project, there was approximately three or four sleep beds in the whole province, so our population doesn't have access to the sleep beds that are necessary."

Gaudet took a one-year fellowship in sleep medicine and opened a two-bed unit at the hospital.

There are more than 80 types of sleep disorders, according to Gaudet, and people don't always realize the importance of a good night's sleep.

"If we deprive rats of sleep after 28 days they die, so it's extremely important for the cardiovascular health of the individual and the physical health."

Gaudet says he's working to come up with funding for two more beds, which is still a small fraction of what he believes the province really needs.

"Because we're a very obese province — we're probably the second most obsese province in all of Canada," Gaudet said. "I see a lot of sleep apnea patients, so patients that stop breathing during the night, which has multiple consequences in the patient's quality of life and on the patient's health."